A same-sex family in Boone found their vehicles keyed from headlight to taillight Thursday. Both vehicles were covered with scratches and hateful words.

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Updated: 6:29 PM CST Nov 11, 2016

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WEBVTT
TOMMIE,
THEY NOW SAY THEY ARE SCARED TO
EVEN STEP OUT THE FRONT DOOR
RIGH
TOMMIE: THAT'S RIGH
BOTH VEHICLES ARE JUST COVERED
WITH SCRATCHES AND HATEFUL
WORDS.
BUT THROUGH THIS INCIDENT, THEY
SAID THEY'VE REALIZED JUST HOW
CARING A COMMUNITY THEY LIVE IN,
INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT POLITICAL VIEWS.
THIS IS HOW A BOONE FAMILY FOUND
THEIR VEHICLES THURSDAY MORNING
-- KEYED FROM HEAD-LIGHT TO
TAIL-LIGHT.
AUSTIN AND MINDY
KIMBALL-GERRITSON HAVE LIVED IN
BOONE FOR OVER A YEAR WITH THEIR
FIVE KIDS AND THEY'VE NEVER
EXPERIENCED SUCH HATE.
>> SHE CALLED ME ON HER FIRST
LUNCH BREAK AND SAID H
SOMEBODY KEYED OUR VAN AND I'
PRETTY SURE IT SAYS #TRUMP AND
SO I SAID OH NO IS OUR S
DAMAGED SO I RAN OUT HERE AND
THE FIRST THING I SAW WAS DIE.
TONY: TOMMIE:
TOMMIE: RATHER THAN A SIGN
ENDORSING A POLITICAL CANDIDATE
THEY HAVE A FLAG OF PRIDE WAVING
IN THEIR FRONT YARD, BUT STILL
#TRUMP WAS KEYED INTO THEIR
VEHICLES.
>> I DON'T KNOW HOW WE CAN LOOK
AT #TRUMP, I LOVE TRUMP AND THEN
HOMOPHOBIC SLURS AND NOT
CORRELATE THEM TO THE ELECTION.
TOMMIE: NOW, THEY WANT PEOPLE TO
SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM AND
REALIZE IT'S NOT OK.
>> WE HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT
PEOPLE THAT ARE WILLING TO
DONATE LABOR TO REPAINT OUR
VEHICLES FOR US AND ONE OF THEM
IS A HUGE TRUMP SUPPORTER.
TOMMIE: THAT TRUMP SUPPORTER IS
ANTHONY KEMP.
HE'S NEVER MET THE COUPLE, BUT
HE'S OFFERING TO HELP BECAUSE HE
WANTS TO SPREAD LOVE, NOT HATE.
>> I FELT HORRIBLE FOR THEM AND
THEY'RE NOT ON MY SIDE OR
WHATEVER POLITICALLY BUT THEY'RE
STILL IN MY COMMUNITY.
TOMMIE: THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY HAS
BEEN RALLYING BEHIND THE COUPLE
AFTER THE INCIDENT HAPPENED.
>> IT'S JUST OVERPOWERING IT
MAKES THIS SITUATION ALMOST
WORTH IT BECAUSE NOW I SEE ALL

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Hurtful vandalism turns to ‘outpouring of love'

A same-sex family in Boone found their vehicles keyed from headlight to taillight Thursday. Both vehicles were covered with scratches and hateful words.

A same-sex family in Boone found their vehicles keyed from headlight to taillight Thursday. Both vehicles were covered with scratches and hateful words.

Austin and Mindy Kimball-Gerritson have lived in Boone for over a year with their five kids and they've never experienced such hate.

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"She called me on her first lunch break and said, ‘Hey, somebody keyed our van and I'm pretty sure it says #Trump,’ and so I said ‘Oh no. Is our SUV damaged?’” Mindy Kimball-Gerritson said. “So I ran out here and the first thing I saw was ‘die.’"

Rather than a sign endorsing a political candidate, the couple has a flag of pride waving in their front yard. ‘#Trump’ was keyed into their vehicles.

"I don't know how we can look at ‘#Trump’, ‘I love Trump’ and then homophobic slurs and not correlate them to the election,” Mindy Kimball-Gerritson said.

The couple wants people to see what happened to them and realize it is not OK.

"We have several different people that are willing to donate labor to repaint our vehicles for us and one of them is a huge Trump supporter," Austin Kimball-Gerritson.

That Trump supporter is Anthony Kemp. He has never met the couple but said he offered to help because he wants to spread love, not hate.

"I felt horrible for them, and they're not on my side or whatever politically but they're still in my community," Kemp said.

Austin Kimball-Gerritson said the entire community rallied behind the couple following the incident.

"It's just overpowering,” Austin Kimball-Gerritson said. “It makes this situation almost worth it because now I see all this outpouring of love."Local law enforcement officers have filed a report, but there are no suspects in the vandalism of the vehicles.

The vehicles were so damaged that the Kimball-Gerritsons will likely have to repaint their entire vehicles.

Anyone wanting to help the family can go to YouCaring.com and search "love scrub the hate away."